User Reviews

This quad pours a fairly dark reddish brown color with a medium tan head that dissipates fairly quickly. There is a good amount of carbonation at first. The smell is yeasty and somewhat fruity, probably cherry. The flavor is quite intense. It has notes of date, coffee, and cherries as the bottle says and a big yeasty backbone. There is also a very detectable flavor of alcohol. This is common to quads, and not something that I normally mind, but it is a little more overpowering here than I would prefer. Although the flavors are nice, this beer lacks the complexity and some of the polish of a truly great quad. It seems like a beer that has some of the right things going for it, but just doesn’t totally come together in the end. It is somewhat enjoyable, and it will get you drunk at 10%, but if you want a really great example of the style this isn’t it.

Enjoyed from a growler via Jungle Jim's Fairfield. This FINE quad pours a reddish mahogany with one of the best heads I have seen that dissipates to a thin off white pool with a thick tightly beaded sudsy ring and fantastic lacing. Nose of dark tart cherries, Belgian candy sugars, and earthy yeast. I detect no coffee in the nose.....that is fixed by the taste with sweet Belgian candy sugars and cherries to all sides, followed by a tobacco and green coffee note that is prevalent on the back and aftertaste, blending nicely with a rich earthy yeast note. Moderately strong alcohol is seared in the back and sides with prickly but light carbonation. A substantial brew indeed. Very nice. New Belgium should be congratulated for making delicious hybrids that are not off the beaten path.

A: poured into a snifter to a ruddy brown with a finger and a half of dense white head that fades to a small mat and leaves good lacing
S: smells is alcohol, dark fruits and sugary sweetness
T: taste is dark fruits, candi sugar, cherry, tobacco and some alcohol. swallow is alcohol, dark fruits and some phenols
M: this beer is on the fuller side with soft and slightly prickly carbonation. the beer finishes just slightly dry
O: Not a bad quad and it definitely can't stand toe to toe with some of the best from Belgium. It's definitely well made and drinks well. Alcohol could be hidden better but the flavors meld fairly well.

Picked this up on clearance at College Liquors in Westminster, still months to best buy date and I tend to like quads. Unfortunately this beer is OK but nothing special, too much booze in both smell and taste, and I am typically a big fan of the big beers. This is not a beer I would grab again, but certainly not a bad beer. Basically, meh.

Have to admit the beer grew on me as I had my second glass, got used to the alcohol content, enjoyed it more and raised a few of my scores. may have to change my idea that I would not buy again if I found it at a good price

Pours hazy red rust color with 1 inch of off-white head that settles to a ring on top and leaves thick strands of lace.

Smell is of funky yeast, tart cherry and an unpleasant hint of ash aroma.

Taste is dominated by bready malt with hints of cherry and other assorted dark fruits.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation.

This effort falls far short of the template set by the classic Belgian quads. In fact, there are many examples of American quadrupels that are more worthy of any quad drinker's attention. Mediocre and forgettable.

too much alcohol flavor not enough any other flavor. The coffee didn't make an appearance and the cherry was not in the forefront. The only thing that sold me was .... did i mention $2 14 oz drafts left over from tap take over at that price Im going to sample it all night long.... could be much tasiter!

Pours a light reddish brown color with an off white head . Aroma of cherries, malt and alcohol. In the taste, much like a big quad with brown sugar, sherry, roast, alcohol and fruit. There is a very slight acidity. This reminds me of an aged Belgian quad. Full bodied mouthfeel and wel carbonated. Overall, this is a good example of the style with a few tweaks.

Poured from the stenciled, 22oz bottle into a La Fin Du Monde tulip glass. Emerges a caramel amber color with a nice sized, white fluffy head. There is generous lacing and the head retention is quite nice.

Aroma is filled with alcohol, cherries, figs, and alcohol. This one is quite boozy. Not quite to the cherry cordial stage, but close. I get NO coffee, so I detracted slightly from the score. I was really hoping for some coffee in this one. Some black pepper and coriander spice but very minimal.

Sweet cherries up front followed by alcohol and more dark fruits. I wouldn't say this one is overly complex, but there is nothing obtusely wrong with it. Again, no coffee at all. Not even one of those chocolate covered alcohol cherry candies that are popular around the holidays. Kind of a quad with cherries. There is some spiciness from the yeast I assume with more black pepper.

Definitely an alcohol warmth to this one. After the first sip i was afflicted with the "red ear" syndrome. Nice this time of year I suppose (although here in FL I can achieve the same by lounging outside with no sunscreen on the ole buds).

Not a great beer but not just a booze bomb. Kind of complex with the cherries and spiciness, but I would noT revisit this one.

Cascara Quad pours a reddish color with a small but lacing head. There is a sweet boozy aroma, with a dark tart cherry note. The taste has a nice boozy sharp malty backbone, with good hints of tart cherries, then the coffee flavors finish. Good body, coffee flavors don't mix very well, so funky aftertaste. Overall its funky, but enjoyable.

Appearance: Medium amber with a thin brownish head, splotchy lacing. Very light in color for a quad, resembles a dubbel more.

Smell: Dark fruits with a good amount of cherry, dates and raisin. Some malty sweetness, but no apparent roast or coffee.

Taste: Dark cherry at the forefront, not tart as I would've hoped for, and I get absolutely no coffee. Tastes reminiscent of cherry cough syrup...

Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate carbonation and a slight alcohol burn. Getting through a whole bottle of this would be a chore.

Overall: Glad this is out of my fridge and I can't say that I'm a fan. Maybe it was a bad bottle, but I got none of the coffee and very little traditional Belgian quadrupel flavors...Unfortunately much of this bottle was a drainpour

This may be a hint off in color, but with all that's been added I'm not surprised. I can't knock it much for that. Plenty of malty, high abv. It's a quad alright.

Cherry with a hint of date: kind of fig-y. The coffee is in the background, but pleasant. A lot of malt provides heavy body. Lucious. Carbonation is light and supports all the aforementioned flavor. Malt is pale and some pils in sense.

A bit hazy. Head is pillow and solid.

I love this beer, but tis a sipper and not "candy" in any sense. Expect the darker, deeper side of cherry.

A - Deep copper, nice one finger medium beige head with steady carbonation, great lacing.

S - Booze and cherry cough syrup up front with dates, figs and plums in the background along with some other fruity belgian esters.

T - Dark fruit medley and coffee notes up front. A harsh alcoholic finish that leaves some black cherry and medicinal notes on the palate.

M - Spot on. Medium bodied, and refreshing if it weren't for the aforementioned lingering qualities.

O - This is a fine Belgian Strong Dark, but a real miss in the Quad department. Too light in color, too much noticeable alcohol and I'm still not even positive if the coffee cherries were a positive flavor profile to add...

What an interesting beer. This one definitely has stages on the tongue - First a slightly fusely, yeasty thing that kinda approximates a quad, then some cherry, then some chocolate, and then a finish that blends it all together with some coffee flavors that add a nice bitterness to the end. The aroma's a bit too yeasty, and doesn't work very well with the flavor, but otherwise this is an enjoyable drink that was fun to take apart.

22 ounce bottle, label says best enjoyed by August 2014. Served in a chalice, the beer pours a burnt orange/brown color with about a half inch light tan head. The head sticks around for a long time, and there's also a good amount of lacing. Aroma is nice, it smells mostly like cherries and dates (really just a lot of dark fruit in general), along with pears, cloves, and some tobacco. Taste is similar to the aroma, it tastes like dark fruit (cherries, dates, plums), dark bread, caramel, candy sugar, pears, and peppery spice. Mouthfeel/body is medium/full, it's coating and creamy with a good amount of soft carbonation. I think it's a good overall brew, I liked it. $6.99 a bottle, definitely worth trying at that price.

Pours a clear, copper color. 1/2 inch head of an off-white color. Great retention and great lacing. Smells of alcohol, sweet malt, cherries, hops, slight spice, and a hint of roasted malt. Fits the style of a Quadruple. Mouth feel is smooth and clean, with a low carbonation level. Tastes of cherries, alcohol, sweet malt, hint of hops, and a hint of spice. Overall, good appearance, aroma, feel, and blend, but the body is sadly lacking in strength.

22 ounce bottle into signature globe glass, bottled in 2/2013. Pours hazy reddish brown color with a 2 finger dense and fluffy light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of raisin, prune, fig, pear, apple, banana, toast, chocolate, dark candi sugar, brown bread, clove, herbal, leather, and yeast earthiness. Nice aromas with good balance and complexity of fruity esters with dark malt notes; and good strength. Taste of raisin, prune, pear, apple, fig, toast, chocolate, brown bread, leather, banana, dark candi sugar, herbal, clove, and yeast earthiness. Lingering notes of dark and light fruits, toast, chocolate, banana, brown bread, leather, clove, herbal, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice balance and complexity of fruity ester and dark bready malt flavors; with zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a slick and creamy mouthfeel that is good. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a slight warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a very nice Quadrupel style. Nice balance and complexity of fruity esters with dark bready malt flavors; and very smooth to sip on. This improved a lot as it reached room temperature. A very enjoyable offering.

A slightly thickish pour. Extremely rich, not a hint of clear in the dark brown beer. The head is mediocre, though it presents a thin lace. However, it's such a dark, rich color that it makes up for any other misgivings.

The scents are subtle, leading me to believe the beer was a bit too cold, but coffee and cherries are hiding in there, as well as a splash of alcohol.

Initially, there's a modest note of cherries which is very pleasant because it's not terribly overwhelming, mostly taking a backseat to the malt. However, there's a big punch of alcohol that masks just about every other ingredient. As it warms, a gentle taste of cherry flavored coffee emerges. Again, it's not overpowering at all, providing just the right amount of flavor to faintly flavor the beer. Impressive.

Unfortunately, that heat and burn from the alcohol beats down any other feel. It's sweet up front and hot and gently bitter at the end. Full bodied with a wet, hot finish.

Overall, I like that the coffee and cherries are supporting characters that don't taint the beer. I like the high ABV, I just wish the alcohol wasn't so obvious. Regardless, it's a nice tasting, sipping beer.

Poured into a 3 Monts tulip glass. Pours a medium red amber with a fine two finger off white head with great retention and lacing. Fruit forward aroma of stone fruit and cherry, caramel malt. Flavor begins with rich estery fruit; cherry, apple and light stone fruit and then dries out abruptly and finishes very light and dry with a slightly astringent bitterness. Medium bodied with spicy carbonation in the finish. An interesting and odd take on the quadrupel style. The coffee cherries really do add a pleasant cherry flavor. I would have liked a bit more presence from the dates, which would have given a bit more body to support the sweet fruit flavors. Not a traditional quadrupel, but delivers the coffee cherry experience nicely. Warming and a bit alcohol forward.

22oz bottle poured into a chalice. I think I can find a date code on the bottle, but I can't read it, so fat lot of good that does us.

Pours murky amber with a smallish head that just sort of sits there. Slow, fine carbonation. Smell is musty, dark fruits (such as the dates mentioned on the bottle), some clove and banana.

Taste is fruity. More of the dates, some cherry, some overripe cherry flavor (which I think is from the cascara, which I've tried in a tea format before), a little bit of alcohol bitterness at the end.

Mouthfeel is thick without being all that sticky. Overall, this is a pretty good beer.

S: Intriguing. Tropical scents. Banana? This beer is fermented with date sugar and brewed with the husk of coffee cherries, so it could be either. Very sweet, otherwise.

T: Initially, not as oppressively sweet as I'd feared. The banana tones are still here, but so is a much more bitter taste that I'm not sure how I feel about. Could it be the coffee? It is sort of in the same realm of bitterness. 'Tobacco' isn't far off either. This is really interesting...and I think I like it.

M: Sharp and demanding. A slight carbonation is outshined by the bizarre but gratifying bitterness in the flavor.

O: I would drink this again. And it's really interesting. Otherwise, not obviously great, but worth your time.